Moon Priest
by GrinGrin
Summary: What if Yue had some influence on Sokka and his life after she ascended?
1. Revelations

**I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**Moon Priest**

**Revelations**

Katara was worried about her brother. This wasn't exactly a new state of being for her, but it had certainly reached a new level.

There was a world of difference between at him getting a fishhook stuck in his thumb and his first girlfriend dying. They hadn't been here long, not by any measure, but those two had taken to each other like a seal-lion to a water.

And now she was gone.

She didn't know how Sokka would take this. She honestly had no idea. When Mom died, they at least had someone to blame, but now?

Who could he blame when she all but took her own life?

"Katara, we have a problem."

"Aang?"

"It's Sokka. He won't wake up."

* * *

She had raced to his side. Sokka had finally fallen asleep on Appa in the middle of stowing away their supplies in the side-pockets. She had seen him there, but she had only thrown a blanket over him. He needed his rest and it wasn't that cold yet.

Now she wished she had woken him or gotten someone to help her drag him inside.

He was screaming, only no sound escaped his throat and his eyes were still closed. Moonlight shone impossibly only on his head. It was way too bright to be natural and it bleached him, turning her healthy brother into a dying man.

Nothing they did could help him. If they moved him, the moonbeam followed. Even when they moved him inside, the beam melted a path through the ice. They couldn't do anything.

Well, she couldn't. Aang had gone to the Spirit Oasis to see if he could do anything from the other side. And she was powerless to do anything other than being nearby. None of the Northerners had done a thing to help. 'Spirit business', they'd say and move away.

None of them had done anything. She had sent one of them to fetch Pakku, but he'd never shown up. Either the message never arrived or he didn't want to interfere. And she couldn't bear to leave Sokka alone, not now.

As the night grew longer, he had stopped that strange, silent screaming. He now made gestures as if to speak or illustrate a point. His brow had furrowed and his lips had twitched as if to smile. He had clenched his teeth and at one point even puckered them as if expecting a kiss.

The moonbeam was growing duller and duller. Finally it dimmed completely, just as the first rays of the sun had come out.

Sokka had open his eyes.

Katara gasped and flinched backwards before she knelt closer and began to talk with him, asking him questions, _was he okay, did he have a bad dream, did he see something, was he okay, was he hungry, was he thirsty, did he remember what happened?_

"Yes, no, yes, didn't you ask that already, always, no and yes."

Katara had lunged forward and thrown her arms around him and hugged him. This was Sokka. Her brother. Her family.

It didn't matter that for a moment she thought his pupils had glowed with white light.

It had to be her mind playing tricks on her. Yes, that was it. She had stared at his brightened face for so long; she couldn't instantly _not see_ the moonlight.

It was a perfectly logical explanation. Heck, it was even a explanation she could Sokka using.

But still… something gnawed at her.

* * *

AN: so… Avatar… I love the show, I really do. But it could also have been so much _more_.

Make the episodes a little longer. Introduce a couple of mature plot points. Expand on the lore a bit.

But no, it's a kid's show. Short episodes, no gray and gray morality, no complicated expansions.

No return of Koh.

Yue had no influence in her Moon-spirit phase (actually, Yue had no power, _period_).

No effects of the Spirit World manifesting in the Material World (except Hei-Bai and the Painted Lady, but that's more a result of environmental damage, in my mind).

No religion, anywhere.

It's a bunch of little things that bother me. I'm not saying I'll be addressing all (or even any) of them, but it bothered me.

Anyway, this story will probably showcase Sokka becoming a priest or shaman or some-or-other-holy-figure of Yue, the Moon Spirit. Warning, though, I imagine Sokka doing some sacrificing and/or facing some pretty strange/disturbing things in his quest for enlightenment (pun not intended).

I love magnificent bastard Sokka, but I don't think I'll be able to do him credit, so it's likely charming, cunning, vicious barbarian Sokka for me.

Also, I'm going to try something a bit different with this story. I'm not going to write out of Sokka or even Yue's POV. Should be interesting.

'Till next time, enjoy and give me some feedback?

I don't know if there is already something like this somewhere on FF.

~GrinGrin

PS - It's actually a double feature, but the other story (Worship) is a crossover with Warhamme 40K, with all that entails.

Written: 08/12/2013

Posted: 08/12/2013


	2. Intelligence

_AN: Epic fail. Accidentally re-posted Worship instead of Moon Priest's second chapter. Thanks Pavelius for the heads-up._

_I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender._

**Moon Priest**

**Intelligence**

Someone, somewhere, had dropped the ball.

General Fong wasn't an unrealistic man. Really. If anything, he thought he was a pretty down to earth kind of guy and not only in the sense of being an earthbender. But some things were just unacceptable.

There was no possible way that his intelligence could have been so wrong. It didn't make sense. The Avatar fit his profile to a T, just as the waterbender did. So why, on Oma's green earth, did the tribesman differ so much from his report?

Obviously, someone had to have made a mistake. He was going to have to have a word with the Kyoshi warriors. His plans weren't completely unsalvageable, but they were affected and that was unacceptable.

He was one of the greatest generals the Kingdom had seen in years! He didn't have to put up with incompetents.

Oh yes, Kyoshi would be getting some messages.

Hmmmm…

Tax increase? Or a mandatory draft?

Fong carefully remade his plans. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Guardsman Fei had seen a lot of things in The Long War. He had seen men boiled alive, seen men crushed under boulders, seen men turn from honourable soldiers into marauding bandits.

He had never seen a tribesman or a waterbender. Were they all so dark-skinned? How did they have such white teeth where all the Earth Kingdom had brown or yellow? What did they eat in the icy North? Did they really practice cannibalism on their foes? Did they really have giant fertility festivals during certain phases of the moon?

So many questions. So little answers.

As luck would have it, he had been assigned to guard the tribesman. He was a quiet boy, withdrawn. But Fei didn't like the look in his eye. He'd seen the same thing in many a comrades' eyes. People with those eyes either went mad or went mad in a way that allowed them to still functioned.

Crazy like a rabbit-fox, some might say.

It was a look he'd seen before both great tragedy and great triumph. That was a look that changed the world.

As he watched the tribesman sharpen that strange bone-tool, he couldn't help but wonder which he would turn out to be.

* * *

This wasn't working! Nothing was working!

He **knew** the avatar was capable of so much. He had heard of it. A Fire Nation Armada didn't just disappear! Something had happened at the North Pole and everyone was pointing at the scrawny little boy that vexed him so.

… He was going to have to get radical. It was unpleasant, but sacrifices had to be made and he had made them a long time ago. What was his soul worth, in the face of tens of thousands of lives?

He had to. He had to. He had to.

It didn't make it easier, but it kept him working.

He never noticed how the moonlight shifted away from his back.

He never saw the shadow of a young man reading over his shoulder.

He never saw the murderous rage the tribes were so famous for.

He never heard the slight rip as the boomerang was pulled out of its holster.

He certainly felt it when the razor's edge nipped him in his voice box.

He certainly heard prayers that no other man has ever heard from another's lips.

He certainly grew fearful and then resigned as his assailants purpose became clear.

He certainly was awed when the moonlight dimmed until only the youth's target was laid bare.

Then he was gone.

* * *

Guardsman Fei had seen a lot of things in The Long War. He had seen men trampled by komodo-rhinos, seen a man gutted by an ostrich-horse, seen a man cough up pieces of his own lungs.

But he had never seen something like this before.

The general was laid out in his tent. His body had been split in two from the neck down.

On his head was written the kanji for traitor.

In his chest was found a scroll written in the general's own hand.

In the middle of his forehead was a small red dot.

If a certain young boy who had suffered too much would put his thumb on that spot, it would be remarkably similar to the red mark that was already there.

The Avatar had left in the middle of the night.

As Fei read the proposal for unlocking the Avatar State, he grew less and less disgusted with the murder and more and more disgusted with the general.

Some of the things he proposed were beyond despicable.

No one noticed that there was a small hole in the general's tent.

No one noticed that, if the moon were to shine, it would eventually fit perfectly on that small, red spot.

No one noticed that the general's heart was missing.

Certainly no one cared when the general's proposal was read aloud.

Fei was right.

Crazy like a rabbit-fox.

You didn't fuck with a Water Tribal's loved ones.

* * *

AN: Sokka is still immensely unstable. As in, near-psychosis. Also, Katara and Aang don't know exactly where he got the scroll, but they've seen a copy. They are NOT amused. They also listen to Sokka a lot more, now that he doesn't talk as much.

He's still trying to figure out what Yue showed him that night. He figures he should become a priest, but his village had no shaman, so he does not know where to begin. He was told stories of the Tribe of old, where they were still the unstoppable barbarian hordes that drove the Fire Nation to such mastery over the sea.

In a sense, Sokka is protecting his surviving loved ones and honoring those who died.

The removal or consumption of the heart was a stable in many different sacrificial rites, as well as victory celebrations.

And that scroll? It started with Katara and Sokka's fake murder. It gets worse from there. I intentionally left it ambiguous, but my mind went to some pretty dark corners. People do terrible things if they believe it's for the greater good.

Kyoshi Island is a type of vassal-state to the greater Earth Kingdom. I couldn't imagine Kyoshi going through all the trouble of creating _two_ specialist branches and not connecting them in some way. In this world, Kyoshi was born on the Island, thus it now bears her name. But Kyoshi's main seat of power was Ba Sing Se. Hence Kyoshi Island being subservient to the Earth Kingdom (as Ba Sing Se is the capital).

I've also introduced one of the Kingdom's spirit-gods in this chapter. Oma (female of the pair) is the spirit of the earth and all it provides in terms of plants. Shu is the spirit of the deep earth and is honored for the various gems and ores he provides. Shu has fallen into obscurity during the war, thanks to the copious amounts of metal the Fire Nation uses. The story of the founding of Omashu is actually about the founding of the first temples dedicated to Oma and Shu.

Essentially, Oma is Gaia or Mother Earth and Shu is like the god of rocks, metals and gems.

Read, enjoy, leave a review.

~GrinGrin

Written: 13/12/2013

Posted: 13/12/2013

Updated: 13/12/2013


	3. Fables

_I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender_

**Moon Priest**

**Fables**

"You're wrong, you know? About Oma and Shu, I mean."

Everyone had jumped a bit when Sokka spoke. He was so quiet these days, it was hard to imagine him ever speaking anymore. His voice had changed as well, becoming a bit deeper, a bit gruffer. It that was a sign of its disuse or Sokka's growth? Who could say?

Chong looked vaguely offended. "Oh? And how would you know of our myths, Water-tribe?"

The tone was harsh, but didn't quite reach the level of an insult.

"Let's just say I know, okay? If nothing else, you could have a new story or song."

Chong shared a glance with his fellow nomads. Moku gave a shrug, but Lily seemed interested. Sighing, he turned back to Sokka. "I suppose it's better than trying to figure out which lyrics we forgot."

Sokka gave him what could only be described as a smirk in return. His teeth even glinted a bit, even though that should have been impossible.

"Well, the first thing that was wrong was those two being people. Oma and Shu never took on human form. Oma thought it was meant only for humans or, as many spirits called them, the worshipers. But Shu was a bit more pragmatic. He didn't care for the human-form, not because it was lowly or holy or whatever spirit-word they used to describe us, but because the human-form is just so damn fragile. Shu didn't like feeling vulnerable.

"So, instead of taking on human form, they took on the form of badger-moles. Oma was covered with light fur, whose color shifted with every step she took. Her visage was pleasing to the eye, and soon she had a great many animals following her, ranging all the way from little bugs to majestic hare-deer.

"And Shu took on the form of a true behemoth, the largest badger-mole the world has ever seen or seen since. It was always coated with a layer of sharp rocks, interspersed with precious jewels and ores. It demonstrated his true nature, of riches being in the grasp of any who would face danger to obtain it.

"These tunnels were their home. They lived here for many years, from the days where the canyon of Omashu hadn't even been formed. And they created the first true badger-moles, as the world knows them today.

"But one day, one of the little ones had decided he was going to go out and play. He walked out of the tunnels, but he was blinded by the sun as he'd never seen it before. Blind and in pain, the little one unknowingly made his way to a nearby village.

"When he got there, the humans reacted in wonder. But the sounds were strange to the little one and he grew scared. He tried to make the sound stop and he succeeded… but at a terrible cost.

"In his efforts, he had destroyed the village. It was cast into a deep valley, rent from the earth by the little one's bewildered anger. The village was destroyed. But the villagers still lived, trapped at the bottom of the valley. But the little one didn't know, nor would he care.

"Sick of the bright world, the little one made his way back to the warren, back to his true home. But there were two people who were not in the village itself when it was cast down. These two villagers had been out hunting and returned to find their village destroyed.

"But they could hear the voices of their family crying up from the bottom of the valley. They could do nothing to save them. Instead, the two had agreed to pursue vengeance for their lost village. Even if they should die, they would be with their loved ones.

"So the two hunters follow the great tracks to the warren. And, after spending the night and sharpening their spears, they went inside to search for the monster that destroyed their village."

Sokka stopped and took a sip from the water skin. He grimaced and then started talking again.

"But this is where the story gets a little fuzzy. There are many accounts as to what happened, but they all end the same. Some say the hunters demanded the life of the little one as penance. Some say the one hunter was killed after he struck his first blow. Still others say they each had to give up their first-born. But it doesn't matter.

"What matters is that Oma and Shu taught the hunters earth-bending as a way to save their village. Oma taught them about construction, how to strengthen the earth and move it to build. Shu taught them about destruction, how to collapse the earth and move it to other places.

"In the end, the brothers returned to their village and raised it from the wound in the earth. They then spent the rest of their days rebuilding their village. The village was then renamed Omashu, to give thanks to the great ones who had given them more than they had taken away. The rest, as they say is history."

But here Sokka paused and looked back. His face was sly.

"But some say the little one wasn't killed. Some say he still lurks in the tunnels, seeking vengeance on the loud ones who caused him so much pain."

Chong tried to gulp, but his throat was too dry. Surely, the boy was just jo-

They all heard the snort.

_(If they had stopped to listen, they would have realized it sounded quite a bit more like laughter.)_

But they were running as fast as they could to the light at the end of the tunnel.

All of them, that is, except Sokka. He had simply jumped up into Appa's saddle and rode into the light like a young king.

* * *

AN: Meh. Tried to keep it vaguely 'mythic'. Vague terms, symbolic appearances and names, different stories.

And a bit of comedy at the end.

This was actually kind of fun. Hope you guys enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Read, enjoy and review.

~GrinGrin

PS – the little one? It may or may not become important later on. I have a vague idea forming, but that's a long way off.

Also, go and vote in the poll on my profile. Moon Priest doesn't suffer from the huge ANs (yet), but still.

Written: 21/12/2013

Posted: 21/12/2013


	4. Leverage

_I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender_

**Moon Priest**

**Leverage**

"Quiet!"

It was the first sound Sokka had made since they saw what had happened to Omashu.

Aang thanked every spirit he could name for Sokka's timely whisper. Not even a second after all three of them had stopped moving, even stopped breathing, did a Fire Nation patrol move past the alley.

He could see that they glanced inwards, but luckily a cloud passed in front of the moon. They were hidden in the night. Safe.

Even if Sokka did whisper something under his breath as they passed. Quite contrary to his order, but it did seem to work out for them.

But they still had to find Bumi. That was certainly not going to be easy.

* * *

Katara was extremely confused.

Not that anyone could blame her.

Everything happened so fast.

They had been looking for some metal place where King Bumi might have been imprisoned, when Aang had suddenly knocked a couple of runaway rocks away from the tracks. And then they'd been attacked by Fire Nation guards and one hell of a creepy girl. Did her face even move during the fight?

A running retreat later and the earth swallowed them up.

And now her brother was trying to let the Earth Benders see the most logical escape plan ever.

"Guys, think for a moment, would you? Omashu is built on a tower of EARTH. How hard would it be for you people to just tunnel away to the bottom of the valley? Spirits, if you do it right, you'd end up in the Badger Mole tunnels and you'd be literally free. It's a maze. Any pursuers would be hopelessly lost."

Katara had to admit, it was pretty damn logical. Why no one had thought of it before?

She blamed Earth Kingdom stubbornness.

But they had the Avatar on their side. If nothing else, that should sway the fence-sitters and the majority of the civilians.

And it did.

Each time Sokka did something like that, he reminded Katara more and more of the way their father would guide their tribe.

Logic, not hopes. Facts, not promises. Debate, not propaganda.

It was beautiful. More importantly, it was effective.

* * *

Things had suddenly taken a turn for the not-boring.

Something, or someone, had galvanized the resistance into new action.

It started with the attempt on their lives.

But even that was surprisingly normal. How better way to destroy an army than by beheading its leadership? At least, that's what the Kingdomers thought. Nationals didn't operate in the same way. Kill the leader, he gets replaced and you end up with an army raging at the bit for revenge. It was just the way things were.

But then, something changed.

The hordes of rebels their spies had been keeping an eye on disappeared, literally overnight.

And then the attacks began.

Omashu's railways started collapsing at night. While normally this could be fixed by a quick application of Earth Bending, the normally complacent Earth Benders refused. Nothing helped. Bribes, threats, outright torture. All of them refused. It was maddening.

And it was just about the same time when the real attacks began. Whole barracks were undermined and left to fall on any sleeping soldiers. Aqueducts were broken. Wells plugged with mud. Roads wrenched open.

And it got worse, day by day.

Attacks on commanders. Sergeants on patrol swallowed by the earth. Warmachines catapulted by vigorous Earth Bending. Mounts let loose in the middle of the night. Politicians disappearing without a trace. Storehouses ransacked. Granaries emptied. Tax-offices plundered.

It was terrible. There were no more rebels. Only terrorists.

And while this made for a more interesting day-to-day life, it was certainly lacking as dinner-conversation.

That suited Mai just fine.

Her family spoke too much and said too little.

* * *

AN: Okay, the first time I'm doing something like this.

Previous chapters were roughly aligned in such a way that one chapter equated one episode. I'm changing that now. Omashu will probably end up as a two or three chapter arc.

As for explanations… first things first. The canon escape-plan. That was just stupid. They had earthbenders. They were on a plateau. So freakin' obvious.

I've done away with the Pentapus and 'Pentapox'. It was something that irked me in canon, so that's gone.

Anyway, I'm taking my first real deviation from canon here. Tomtom isn't captured, so the rebels have no leverage. Hence their attacks, an attempt to gain that leverage. All these attacks are orchestrated by Sokka, who (as I think I've said) is not nice. At all.

Also, Azula's trip from where Ty-Lee was (somewhere in the Fire Nation proper, I'd imagine) to Omashu isn't going to be as short as it was in canon. Thus, we get time to muck about in Omashu.

And yes, Katara and Aang did argue against the plan, but they ultimately decided to allow it, as long as they could search for Bumi on their own as well.

Also, there wasn't a cloud.

Read, enjoy and review.

~GrinGrin

PS- two things…

Firstly, I'm killing the poll regarding my ANs by tomorrow at the latest. It hasn't got a lot to do with Moon Priest (not yet, at least), but I'm putting it here anyway.

Secondly, I've been mucking about in my profile page. I've put requests, general info, milestones or targets and generally cleaned it up a bit. Pay it a visit and see if it can either help you or me, yeah?

Written: 07/01/2014

Posted: 07/01/2014


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